Health departments urged to take preventive measures against floods

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Health (MoH) has requested health departments in the northern mountainous provinces to carry out works related to health and safety for patients in flood-prone areas.

Owing to heavy rainfall, and the susceptibility of northern provinces to landslides and flash floods, the ministry has asked local health departments to be prepared to respond to the situation.

The ministry has requested a few provinces affected by the recent floods to cooperate with agencies in locating missing persons and supporting the affected families.

It also specifically requested health departments in the affected areas to make available sufficient supply of medicines and to implement plans to protect or relocate health facilities to ensure the absolute safety of patients, health workers, as well as the medical equipment.

Local health departments were asked to instruct health facilities to clean the environment and ensure food safety to prevent diseases that could be triggered by floods, such as dengue fever, diarrhoea or red eyes.

The ministry also required the provincial Health Communication and Education Centres to guide people in the affected areas to help them keep the environment clean and prevent the spread of infectious and pathogenic diseases.

The units under the MoH were also required to prepare drug, equipment and medical teams to assist the localities. — VNS